Central Florida Zoo plans conservation event Party for the Planet May 16

The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens will turn conservation into a hands-on family outing May 16, with a flower-wall photo activity, native milkweed giveaways and keeper chats that link local choices to wildlife survival.

Party for the Planet will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3755 West Seminole Boulevard in Sanford, and the zoo is pairing the event with a message that conservation should feel practical, not abstract. Guests will be able to meet conservation vendors, join a dance party with DJ Darren, stop for face painting and add a promise to the Bloom for the Planet photo wall while supplies last. The schedule also includes prints-and-plants auction items, a plant tour, a reptile demonstration near the Herpetarium and talks about cotton-top tamarins, Florida black bears and animal ambassadors.

The zoo says visitors can bring e-waste for responsible recycling, a detail that ties the day to habits families can carry home after they leave Lake Monroe. The event is part of a larger conservation campaign led by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which runs from Earth Day on April 22 through World Ocean Day on June 8 and is supported by the Disney Conservation Fund. The zoo says Party for the Planet is its annual celebration tied to Earth Day, Endangered Species Day and World Oceans Day.

Admission to Party for the Planet is included with general zoo entry, and the zoo’s conservation-day page says the event is designed to help protect the planet through community participation. Orlando Health Lake Mary Hospital is also backing the effort as part of the zoo’s broader connection to community well-being.

The conservation focus will extend into the weekend. The zoo’s two-day plant sale runs May 16 and 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature native and exotic plants, local nursery vendors and plants grown by the zoo’s horticulture team. The sale is meant to help visitors build wildlife-friendly yards at home, especially through plants that support pollinators such as monarch butterflies.

That local emphasis fits Seminole County well. Seminole Audubon Society says it has a long history of conservation and preservation advocacy in Seminole County and surrounding communities, underscoring why a zoo event built around birds, native planting and habitat-friendly choices may resonate beyond the gates. With conservation vendors, garden tours and hands-on activities packed into one day, the zoo is betting families will not just watch wildlife, but leave with something they can grow, recycle or change at home.